Towards a Lost Paradise:::
by C.o.m.t.e.s.s.a
Summary: Kiba-Toboe. A very wounded, haggard-looking white wolf, tired of trailing the scent of lunar flowers, stumbles upon a dome city. There, under an ash-gray sky that goes on forever he'll discover "another" that still bears the scent of the Wild.
1. Default Chapter

**A/N** Well, hi there! And welcome to my humble abode. I'm Comtessa, your hostess and part-time amateur writer, and I'm here to introduce my brand new attempt at fanfic writing: a Wolf's Rain fanfiction! Yay! It's been ages since I've done one, so forgive me if my style is a bit rusty or hard to get ¬¬ ( which is for sure….)

Anyway, but before I start, let me first make a couple of points clear, k?

The only things I know of Wolf's Rain are the first **two** episodes I saw on TV (No TV Channel put them on air, so I had to purchase them on video cassette) and a summary that a very obsessed friend of mine gave me one cold bitter night many many days ago, on the phone. So this fanfic will definitely be AU, and MOST DEFINITELY OOC. There, so now you're warned.

It starts were the first anime episode starts: Kiba trudging through the snow, hungry, wounded and brooding, before he reaches the dome. From there onwards I change it and accommodate it to my needs (in other words, my sick and twisted imagination )

I reiterate, the characters will definitely be odd, and well, "not them". A friend of mine, Sasa, when she read it told me that Kiba, for one, was way too angsty and "cocky" for his own good. And Toboe…. Well Toboe is sweet, huggable and all the sappy things you can think of! )

This will also be definitely a YAOI later on (though not sure how explicit itll end up being), so beware if you don't like those kinds of things.

And that's about it. So now read on and enjoy!

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Wolf's Rain.

"…." : talking

_thinking_

:TOWARDS A LOST PARADISE:

a Wolf's Rain fanfiction

by Comtessa

**:PROLOGUE:**

:Stray:

"_Stray! Stray!_

_In the cold breeze_

_That I walk along_

_The memories of generations burn within me._

_Been forever_

_Since I cried of pain and sorrow_

_I live and die_

_Proud of my people gaining.…"_

_(Wolf's Rain 1º opening)_

()()()()()()()()()()_  
_

Kiba had been walking for miles now without stopping through the deserted white mantle that had become the grounds of Earth as of lately.

How much time had passed since he began?

Minutes? Hours? Days? It was impossible for him to tell, for since he left the mountains, since he started following the trail, all that had surrounded him for miles and miles on end had been white.

Nothing, not even the slightest trace of another colors taint had marred the dyed landscape of that forsaken land that Kiba once knew to be green and luscious. When he had been a pup, many moons ago, he had traveled with his pack throughout those lands full of deep green forests and sun-washed clearings.

But that was now in the past. That was now only a dried old memory of the days before the extinction had arrived.

He continued trudging through the bitter snow, visibly limping from the wound he'd received in his last encounter with humans.

_Humans… Such petty beings._

Snowflakes continued to fall silently, lazily, from a sky that for many moons now, Kiba had forgotten it even existed.

What color had it been the last time he'd paid attention to it? Blue? Gray?…. Black?

He felt exhausted and cold. His stomach, once a quite noisy companion, had stopped growling from hunger a while ago when it had tired itself of begging for some merciful food. But food and rest were nowhere to be found, not even if he'd really wanted or sought for them; not even if he'd been really willing to postpone the Search for them. The countless storms that had lately devastated the land had erased all traces of digestible preys, and the winds had taken away any smells of food or shelter. So, the only thing left for him to do was to keep on walking, following the wispy scent of a faint but never-changing trace of a lost paradise.

Kiba had never believed in paradise before. _Rakue_n had already been an old legend in his cub years, told by the Elders on the nights of the full moon…. So why start thinking of it as realnow? Why start believing that it would, somehow, become a reality for him only…. He, the last one that hadn't betrayed their kin, the last one that hadn't accepted humans as part of his pack?

He knew there was nothing at the end of the world. It didn't matter how much one desired, walked or believed, nothing would be awaiting them at the end of things.

Nothing would be awaiting **him**

Then why continue?

….Because the wolf had heard the voice of the Flower Maiden…. "Travel to paradise," it whispered, through those snow-covered lands and his perpetually frozen soul. And for some unknown reason, he did.

He started to **believe**

He abandoned the far and now empty domains of his ancestors and began walking, endlessly trudging, in search of a legendary place full of moon flowers and warm winds.

But did he really believe that it existed? Or was he only searching for that soft honeyed voice that promised him he wouldn't be alone anymore; that someone, somewhere, was waiting for him to come? Was that what Rakuen was really about? So many questions….So many doubts….

Kiba stopped and fixed his eyes ahead. Through the mist created by the ever falling snow, a huge black shadow was clearly distinguished in the near distance. Light signals and yellow reflectors that illuminated the skies marked it as another human city.

He didn't believe to hold the strength for another close encounter with humans, but he needed to enter and search.

For the trace lead him there.

_"Is there a place_

_left for me?_

_Somewhere that I belong_

_Or will I always live this way…._

_Always stray…."_

_(Wolf's Rain 1º opening.)_

()()()()()()()()()()_  
_

Well, that's it. Today I'll be also probably be posting Chapter 1 because I find the Prologue short and…. well, blah! It doesn't say much of the story, so, read on then, and review!

C.o.m.t.e.s.s.a.


	2. Chapter 01:

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Wolf's Rain.

:TOWARDS A LOST PARADISE:

a Wolf's Rain fanfiction

by Comtessa

**:CHAPTER 1:**

:Heaven's not enough:

"_Been a long road to follow,_

_been there and gone tomorrow_

_without saying goodbye to yesterday_

_Are the memories I hold still valid?_

_Or have the tears deluded them?"_

_(Wolf's Rain 1º ending)_

()()()()()()()()()()_  
_

Some time later, Kiba reached the dome-city.

It was cold in there, too. Not as much as in the exterior, but quite cold still. For though here it didn't snow, the air felt damp and chilly like the dried coldness of an ice cube, and it seeped through his already wet white fur, freezing him to the bones.

Many humans were around, going on their business and staring puzzled at him as he passed them by. Some even pointed or tried to entice him calling him to them as if he were one of their pets. Should he hide or let them see him as one more of their kin?

_Agh. Let them see what they please. I don't care at all,_ he mentally scowled. He was indeed too tired and hurt to care either way.

Kiba growled low in his throat. He could feel stabs of pain on his wounded hind leg. The pain that had dulled to a constant throb during his trudge in the snow, had now re-emerged with a fiery fury. The wound had also started bleeding again and infecting; he could clearly feel the putrid blood seeping through the fur of his leg. During his trip in the exterior he hadn't wanted to stop to properly heal it for fear that once he laid down, he wouldn't be able to get up again.

The smells of meat and food cooking assaulted his senses no sooner he stepped in the dome, and were now re-awakening his stomach, too. But beneath it all, the urge to find the lost trace pushed him forward almost mercilessly. "Just a little more," it beckoned. And Kiba followed.

He dazedly passed through many crowded yet equally desolate streets; wounded, as in a dream-state, through countless alleys and dark passages. Humans were everywhere in this city, their stench making Kiba's head swim.

How was he supposed to find a single Moon Flower in this sea of nauseating smells and faces…. But he would, he **knew** he would. _Simple. Just like I've been doing for more days than I've cared to count. Just trudge on and t--_

He stiffened. Reaching his muzzle up and closing his eyes in concentration, he sniffed the air. It was only a faint scent, almost unperceivable under the polluted surroundings and his congestionated nose, but was there nonetheless…. Kiba could bet his life on it.

The bitter-sweet, enticing smell of raw meat.

His stomach immediately reacted and grumbled painfully louder than anytime before, as if telling him, "I'm not kidding this time, this isn't your decision anymore. I NEED FOOD." He shook his head in an attempt to clear it, the action randomly dispersing snowflakes and drops of cold water from his fur coat. _No, the trace--_, his conscious, obsessed mind argued; but he wasn't even able to finish his train of thought before another excruciating wave of pain ran through him. He lowered his head and shuddered.

Kiba knew it was a lost cause. He desperately needed the food and a little rest immediately, or he would meet with a paradise alright…. But this one wouldn't be on Earth.

Stumbling a little, he moved towards the acrid scent of meat and blood, leaving behind the dark red marks of his injured paw on the dirty cobbled street.

He was consciously trying not to use his injured leg at all, but it was proving to be an impossible task. He knew the red liquid he could now feel warmly marring his once immaculate fur wouldn't stop unless he licked it clean.

_But I don't have time._

As he moved slowly, the sooty streets unwounded themselves before him, making the wolf wonder, for the thousandth time, how was it possible that such a weak, decaying race as humanity had been able to successfully erase his proud, strong one in just a few years. But again, Kiba remembered what the Wise Elders used to say to him on the days when the fat silvery moon could be clearly seen high in the skies from the top of the Howling Mountains: "Don't ever question Nature's doings, young leader. She's a clever, artful ruler of all things living, and her decisions are to be accepted, not put to test."

"You're wrong, jijii-sama," a younger version of himself had replied. "Humans are no Nature's creatures. They are the plague that is slowly corrupting Her heart, and will be the end of us all."

If he had only known how true those words would prove to be….

He smiled grimly, a mere show of deadly fangs and powerful jaws. His golden eyes darkened like two pools of molten amber as the heavy weight of uncalled memories from yonder days crushed him. In those times, he had been preparing himself to take the control of the pack of the Mountain Wolfs from the East as their new selected leader. His job was going to be to guide them safely through the treacherous paths of the Snowy Peaks, further in the depths of the East, to new and wealthier grounds. But extinction, that silent and dark shadow, had caught up to them faster than any river thawing in summer…. And, in the blink of an eye they had all died, vanishing under his very muzzle, and leaving him powerless and completely alone.

_Why? Why were they suddenly hunted? Why did I not see...?_ The questions ran rampant in his mind, never giving him a moments peace.

He focused on the path ahead and mentally counted the cobbles under his feet to force his mind back to reality.

Finally, after having had trod aimlessly through the damp passages of that pathetic, ashen-gray city, Kiba encountered the source of the smell. And felt bitterly disappointed.

He found himself at the entrance of a small alley, surrounded by the tall walls of several human edifications. Before him, a poor group of half-rotten stray dogs were ferociously devouring something that Kiba, from his position, could still not clearly distinguish.

_They're so noisy,_ he thought, as the yips, growls and whines grew in intensity and savageness.

The animals were a group of seven very famished beings, dirty and grotesque. The typical sight of abandoned lap-dogs that one encounters in a degenerated city where not even humans themselves matter much.

They were barking and biting, tearing each other to threads in order to get at least a little taste of whatever they were eating. Also, they were obviously too many and too hungry for a prey that Kiba guessed was tiny and seemed to have suffered from the same kind of famish as the other dogs before having died.

Kiba approached them stealthily, trying not to give away his presence just yet and narrowing his eyes to better see. Nonetheless, when he was almost behind them, the strays turned in alarm.

The wind had been on their side and it had inavertedly brought the odd scent of the Wild with it. Their mood darkened. They growled and barked menacingly, foam and blood dripping from their jaws. Suddenly bombarded with such tantalizing sight –making his stomach churn in hunger- Kiba was finally forced to avert his gaze, fearing he might go mad.

Oblivious to the wolf's inner turmoil, the dogs glared at the new comer with rage and suspicion. The food was very little and their group had been starving for weeks now; they would not allow a strange foreigner to join the feast.

But as soon as they sniffed the new comer to identify his scent and archive it for future reference, something major clicked in their heads. Some unknown, primitive sensation awakened, flooding their senses with such fear as they had never felt before; a warning that the white beast with piercing eyes in front of them was dangerous beyond what any of them could ever imagine.

Some dogs –the brighter ones- heeded the warning immediately and, whimpering, backed away. For there stood the Wilderness they did not consciously know but instinctually recognized. A Wilderness that their ancestors had left behind thousand upon thousands of years before and that, with the passing of the ages, had lost Name to them.

Slowly, one by one, they retreated to the darkest corners and away from the alley, knowing that the white creature was far too powerful an enemy to challenge, even when obviously wounded.

As the dogs moved lankily away, Kiba advanced. Intimidating, he stepped near them, a low constant growl sounding from deep within. Yet to his surprise, one of the strays didn't back away. On the contrary, it stood it's ground proudly over the teared and bloodied prey. Barking as menacingly as it could, it threatened to disembowel the wolf if he even dare lay a paw on his meal.

_Mmm. He must be the leader. Such silly animal, he should know better by now._

Kiba allowed a lazy, predatorial smile full of sharp fangs and formidable jaws to grace his face. The human pet was actually challenging him! What a stupid notion….

He lowered his body slightly in a waiting stance, and readied himself to spring. He was hurting everywhere, and the added pressure on his hind leg was creating new stabs of pain that put his hair on ends and made his vision blur. But he would attack. Already he could feel his blood pounding in expectation, the desire to rip the other's throat enveloping him in sheer ecstasy.

And so, faster than a lightning's flash, he jumped high over the skinny stray, driving his claws deep in the other's left side.

The dog groaned loudly in pain and, tumbling, retreated.

_He's trying to improve his chances with a surprise attack!_ But Kiba's thoughts were cut short when the dog propelled itself forward and jumped over him, successfully pinning him to the ground and trying to bite the wolf's neck off. Quickly, Kiba turned and moved abruptly, making them both whirl and bump against a wall, hard.

Movements succeeded each other, one after the other, so fastly that the fighters seemed to merge together and become a blurry black-and-white shape.

Growls and whimpers resounded all throughout the cramped alley, as desperation and blood lust overtook them both.

But as time flew by, the fighters tired. The stray dog's movements faltered considerably when compared to the agility of the white wolf._A simple pet cannot defeat me. It **will** not defeat me._ It was this constant, pounding mantra the one that momentarily transformed Kiba in that forgotten mountain wolf's leader that he had once strived to be.

He growled ferociously and lounged.

In an instant, the fight was over. The body of the challenger laid dead-still at Kiba's feet, his once raven black fur now wet with the crimson liquid that freely seeped from the creature's ripped open throat.

Kiba was panting, the exertion having completely drained him. The inner beast that had been unleashed savagely under the stupid dog's petty challenge once again laid dormant inside of him; leaving him worn out, starving and absolutely drenched in blood. Whose blood was it exactly he couldn't say, but he felt painful needles in his neck and face whenever he moved them even in the least, so he supposed a good portion of it was also his.

Looking down through now clear gold eyes, he sneered. _So the mutt managed to bit me after all…. Pity it ended up being useless._

He turned and stared at his prize. Nothing much remained of the prey for the strays had apparently been nipping at it for quite some time now. Its smell told Kiba that, when air had filled it's lungs and it's heart had been beating with life, it had also been a dog. No doubt an unfortunate member of the stray's group, too, whom the famish and street life had rendered completely useless. Once dead, the strays had taken advantage of the apparently favorable situation.

Kiba turned his head in disgust, but his stomach grumbled otherwise. What else did he expect in a place governed by human laws such as this city?

A wolf would never eat his own kind, not even in the worst of situations. It was an ancient commandment all wolves knew by heart. But he also knew perfectly well that rules and commandments could not be applied on this world anymore.

So, tumbling a little, he bent down and began nipping the flesh of the dead dog that lay at his feet.

_After all, he is not part of my brethren,_ he told himself, in a useless effort to drown that uncomfortable, sinking feeling that had suddenly seemed to have settled in the pit of his stomach.

Guilt.

"_Something somewhere out there_

_keeps calling,_

_am I going home?_

_Will I hear someone singing solace_

_To the silent moon?" _

_(Wolf's Rain 1º ending.)_

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_

**A/N:** That's it for today. Thank you for taking the time of reading my story, I really appreciate it! I hope you have enjoyed this chapter and see you around!

Oh, and please don't forget to **review!** )

C.o.m.t.e.s.s.a.


	3. Chapter 02:

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Wolf's Rain.

:TOWARDS A LOST PARADISE:

a Wolf's Rain fanfiction

by Comtessa

**:CHAPTER 2:**

:Paw prints left behind:

_"Maybe this time tomorrow_

_the rain will cease to follow_

_and the mist will fade_

_into one more today…."_

_Wolf's Rain 1º ending_

_---------------------_

"…." Talking

….+ Thoughts

_---------------------_

Little by little, his stomach's incessant churning subsided under the effects of the food. It was now time for him to find rest…. And heal.

Limping, Kiba moved away from the stinking alley. With every labored step, his paws left wobbly red prints of blood on the black cobbles. Artificial clouds were gathering up over him and the sound of fake thunders rumbling echoed in the confines of the dome's ceiling. Soon it would start to rain. He needed to find some form of shelter before it did, for he feared that even the lazy pounding of the drops would tumble him down. Forever.

He dragged himself forward, head bent, muscles stiff from the overexertion.

He padded towards a small covered corner created by the poorly constructed arquitecture of two stone buildings. Here it was at least dry and the rain wouldn't bother him much.

Tired... So tired+

Shakily, the white wolf fell on his knees and then laid down on his side, completely still. His golden pools, once full of the regal light so characteristic of his spirit, now looked tiredly ahead. He stared through half-lidded eyes at the busy streets crowded with humans as they passed by as if in slow motion.

He snarled.

Kiba hated them, every single one of them, just as much as he hated Nature's designs. He hated the way She had allowed those pitiful humans to destroy his kin. Hated how She had let them all die away and be forgotten, while he had survived it all…. Only to have him rot alone in a colorless city, under the human's feet.

…. And he hated to have as only hope for the future an old, mythical legend of a lost place on Earth that, apparently, only _he_ knew the way to.

He snorted. +Yeah, right.+

His trace? The voice of a _Flower Maiden_ that craved for wolven blood. A sweet, honeyed voice which he had only heard _once_ in his mind, a long time ago and that it could bloody well be a mere figment of his screwed up imagination! And then, of course, was the faint fragrance of a single _Moon Flower_ that could also be a bloody figment of his muzzle for all he knew!

Another snort. He narrowed his eyes and glared ahead.

Yes, well that would be just priceless, wouldn't it? For him to have imagined it all.

So many doubts…. +No, I need to stay focused, to believe.+

"Remember, young leader, always remain strong and true to your beliefs. It is the only way to live with honor in this world where the old Lines of Power are fading…." The words echoed in the depths of his skull, in the papery, far away voice of an Elder of his Clan.

Such a long time since I've heard that word: honor. But where is it now, jijii-sama? Where is that forgotten Power, now that all of us are gone+

He yawned. His thoughts were becoming fuzzy and shattering away with sleep. Kiba allowed his eyelids to fall completely shut and sunk in the darkness of blissful unconsciousness.

Above him, a last dry rumble was heard before the artificial grayish-green sky cracked open and let the drops fall, one after another. They took their time in tumbling down, as if regretting having parted from their cloudy cradle at all.

Minutes later, they poured with ferocious intensity. And the wolf slept.

Meanwhile, some blocks away, a young boy shivered slightly. The rain had began to soak him mercilessly through his measly clothes.

"Mou, I shouldn't have come out today. Now I'll get sick," he grumbled in annoyance as he tried to push himself as far as he could against the cold surface of a building's wall.

But inside he knew perfectly well the reasons behind his current situation. It had been impossible for him to remain one single second longer in that house, all alone, and haunted by bitter dreams.

He sighed and hugged himself in a silly effort to spread some warmth to his already frozen limbs. With his brown head bent down, he relieved the day's tensions.

Once again Tooboe had been suffering from nightmares. He had awoken screaming, his breath heavy as if he had ran a great distance, with cold sweat beaded in his forehead. It had felt so vivid….so real. By now he should've been used to that sensation, to those old memories of pain and death. But he wasn't. No matter how many times he relieved them, night after night, he still feared.

Tooboe clutched his shoulders, shivering as if from the stinging cold.

No, not cold+ he thought +Fear...+

He didn't know exactly what most of them were about, those dreams; for barely seconds after he'd awoken, they'd vanished. And he would be left panting and terrified, with the distinct impression that he had re-lived something terrible in his sleep.

Something from his past.

And so, every morning he ached. Ached for the long tortuous days of his childhood spent outside the city's walls, abandoned, alone. For the hunger and emptiness he'd felt countless times during his short life. And for the death of the only person who had ever cared for him.

Thunder rumbled in the skies. A warning not to continue that line of thought.

Tooboe let his eyes wonder up, on the falling motion of the rain. He liked the rain. It made him feel as if, somehow, the world understood him for a day…. As if it felt as miserable as he did.

It was ironical, really, how rainy days tended to depress humans, he thought. How it seemed to remind them –or at least most of them- that it didn't matter how many others surrounded them, how friendly or caring or understanding they were, they were always individuals, and thus alone. Tooboe believed that the rain symbolized that. Thousand upon thousands of tiny little drops, all born form the same heavenly source, all falling together towards indefinite grounds…. But still, at the end of the journey, all single entities that can never completely merge with one another. No matter how hard they tried or how many of their kin they stumbled with upon the way.

He smiled and passed a quivering hand through his messy, coppery hair. Obaa-san had once said he was too contemplative for his own good. That he should be more practical and carefree, and not dwindle too much on emotions, for most of the times _"too much thinking leads nowhere"._

_"But, obaa-san,"_ he had whined._ "Aren't we supposed to analyze things before acting?"_

_"Yes, child, of course. But you're way too young to be so….calculating. Enjoy yourself more; be more….instinctual."_

A tear rolled unchecked through his cheek.

He'd been mad at the time for being called a child. He hated that. "_I'm NOT a child, obaa-san. I'm almost sixteen years next full moon!" _He'd always scowl at her for diminishing him, and she'd always smile at his silly tantrums.

He missed her. Oh, how the boy missed her indeed. But she had died long ago of old age and a tired body that had given up slowly and painfully to sickness. He had watched as she deteriorated day after day, and hadn't been able to do anything except mourn.

She had parted one day with the coming of the dawn, and the boy had been left behind. Abandoned and alone. Again.

Tooboe sighed and quickly wiped away the remains of his tears. It wouldn't do for him to start crying over her again. It would take him nowhere, anyway. Besides, depression never bode well with his character.

Straightening, he shook his head to clear it from water and dark thoughts.

Tooboe started forward then, walking slowly through the side walks of the ashen-gray city that was his home…. Silently mirroring a tiny drop of rain.

_"Is somebody there_

_behind these heavy, aching feet?_

_Still the road_

_Keeps on telling me to go on._

_Something is pulling me_

_And I feel the gravity of it all."_

_Wolf's Rain 1º ending._

_--------------------_

**A/N:** Ok, Done! Thank you very much for those who reviewed, and for taking time and reading my story. ) Domou arigatou gozaimasu!

Please don't forget to **review!** )

C.o.m.t.e.s.s.a

_"Nights have a habit of mysterious gifts and refusals/of things half given away/half withheld/of joys with a dark hemisphere/Nights act that way, I tell you."_

J.L.B.


	4. Chapter 03:

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Wolf's Rain.

:TOWARDS A LOST PARADISE:

a Wolf's Rain fanfiction

by Comtessa

**:CHAPTER 3:**

:Paths long trudged:

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

_"Please, don't wake me_

_from this dream._

_It's really everything it seemed._

_I'm so free…._

_No black and white in the blue…."_

"_Blue" from Cowboy Bebop._

_/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/_

In the stillness of the night, a white wolf dreamt.

:At first there was nothing.

But then, all at once, there was light. And wind.

He basked in the freshness of the air and the softness of the grass that spread beneath his lying form.

His eyes were closed but he knew with unquestionable certainty that the sun was warmly shining high up, in a turquoise colored sky.

He sniffed the air lightly, not even bothering to open his eyes. Winter hung on late up here in the mountains, but there was definitely a taste of spring on the wind.

Did he know this place?

He sniffed again. Perhaps. It _felt_ familiar….yet not quite so. It didn't matter, though, for it was oddly comforting for him…. And it vaguely resembled _home_.

The minutes passed, drawling away interminably in the cradled embrace of the moving time. Softly, tersely, as if they were naught but illusions made of air. And the wolf let them tick by, his form unmoving. Unfazed.

Kibas ears perked up. In the distance he could hear the flowing movement of a river descending from the snowy tops of some impressive mountain. Thawing rivers that traveled down with the coming of spring's heat; that rushed down the mountain's slopes, fastly, desiring to escape it.

Kiba mentally smiled. Yes. Clear, cold water…. What he'd give for a taste of it….

But the white wolf didn't stir nor dare move, not even to blink open his eyes to let them roam around freely through such pleasant environment as he knew was out there. No, he didn't dare even make a sound and disrupt it. Lest he broke the spell. Lest he realized it might not be true.

Still, something insistently tugged at the strings of his consciousness…. like a threat. Or a warning.

Even though it began as a soft wisp, Kibas clever nose immediately perceived it. A change in the air, a shifting in the scene displayed behind his closed eyelids.

A stench.

He scowled. +Humans+ his mind snarled.

As if the wolf's recognition was all it took for it to gain power, their smell grew stronger, seeming to come ominously closer to his lying form. Panicked, he stirred. A stupid mistake on his part.

Like ripples in the water, the image of green fields began to move, to blur.

To erase.

"No, don't!" he yelled, when the sounds of crystal rivers and fresh winds started to lankily recede; all the pleasant sensations disappearing in a colorful whirlwind.

He knew he had been dreaming, had known it all along….

A silly dream of forgotten landscapes and colors that the real world seemed to lack in every aspect nowadays.

A dream. Just some mundane recollection of his old memories where sense and logic melted into nothing but this moment, one instant after another.

Something from which Kiba didn't desire to wake up.

Everything felt so good there! No pain, no hunger nor bloody paradises…. Just the comfort and warmth of a place that in so many ways resembled home. Here he was stripped off his understanding; he became a creature without regret or dark memories. Here contentment was forgetting.

"Please, I don't want to wake up….not yet, please!" desperation laced his deep voice, as he unconsciously nuzzled whatever it was that was tightly pressed against him, in an attempt to regain some semblance of that welcomy warmth that _the thing _was providing.

Kiba groaned softly. Inside his head the dream was almost gone. No longer could he feel the grass or the Western breeze. The smell of humans had overpowered all his senses and he was left cold, and alone:

The thing pressed against him stirred and whined hushedly, as if sensing his distress.

A pause. Something metaphorically "clicked" in his head.

What the--!

He immediately stiffened and his eyes flew open instinctively. For a moment his disorientation terrified him- where was he?- but then things spun into focus and he remembered what had happened and how he'd gotten there.

Blinking a few times to clear the fog of sleep, the street up ahead became clear. No one was around now and it had stopped raining. The sky, though, remained pressingly dark and covered in fake grayish-green clouds that didn't drift. Just remained forebodingly still.

He looked down to his middle section and found a brown _form_ curled and resting there. Something _lying_ next to him!

It was a fluffy ball, the color of old bronze, cuddled against Kibas stomach and fast asleep, unaware that the white wolf had already woken. And was NOT pleased.

A warning flashed in Kibas head and his heart skipped a beat.

As a wolf he rarely accepted close proximity, and as a _wild_ wolf he thoroughly HATED cuddling.

He let a deep growl escape his throat and in a flash, leapt away from the intruder.

Screaming muscles fell into action as he spread his legs beneath him and lowered in a battle stance.

Stabs of pain, head swimming….+

A yip and a whine came from the other animal as the sudden movement jerked it awake, and he ungracefully rolled and fell in a dirty puddle in the street.

It skittered to a stop and, fastly crawling, moved away from Kiba.

Meanwhile, the white wolf, hackles raised, sniffed the intruder. The thing was practically oozing human stench and pollution, yet still, beneath it all, something else was perceivable….the scent of green and white, of open fields and—

Flashes, rushing images came unbidden to his mind_. Dark nights in haunting woods, the hazy vegetation of an eerily silent forest.; a round silvery moon hanging up from a black-satined sky and rapidly lost as he moved fastly through tall, imposing pine trees._

_He was being followed. Rapid steps echoed in his keen ears as they pounded against the snow-covered floor right behind him._

_He rushed on ahead of his pursuers, leading them, guiding them, running stealthily forward amidst his fellow kin…._

_Always following him. Always behind him. His ghost pack._

He growled, teeth bared for all to see.

This thing…. smells of wilderness+

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Tooboe had been blissfully submerged in a nightmare-free sleep when he'd been brusquely shoved away by the white wolf.

He hadn't intended to fall asleep, though, it was just that….

It had started raining so hard that he'd rushed to find shelter and had stumbled upon this hidden crevice between two buildings. Upon closer inspection he had discovered it to be already taken.

It's occupant turned out to be a wolf.

He'd been so thrilled with this little discovery – his obaa-san had once said that wolves had extinguished many years ago- that, without thinking it twice, he had assumed his own wolven form and had fastly scampered inside.

The other had not stirred, so Tooboe had shyly taken the liberty of close inspection. It was big, almost twice his size but it was also way too thin to be healthy. +He looks more like a sack of bones than anything else+. It lay sprawled on it's side, his four long legs spread in front of him as if he had collapsed instead of fallen asleep. His once evidently clear white fur was now moted and blotched with dirt and dry blood. Such a pitiful sight, Tooboe thought, and couldn't help feeling his own heart clench in sadness.

Tooboe then, sniffed timidly at the other's neck wounds. +Mmm. They don't seem serious. I guess most of the blood doesn't belong to him but to whomever he fought with recently.+ Taking one very cautious step forward, he inhaled the coppery scent that wafted from the white wolf's hind leg. +Wait….+ "Ugh." He backtracked suddenly, shaking his head from side to side to clear it from the insidious stench. "It's—It's infected! Yuck, it's rotting away.…" Tooboe hadn't realized he'd been talking aloud, his eyes fixed on the other's dead-still form. +Why didn't he heal it? Did he not realize it's state? No, impossible! Even I can smell it's decay.+ He stared at the wolf's face, peacefully oblivious to the scrutiny he was been subject to. +Then….why+ "I should help him…."

Impulsively, he had been about to approach it, but stopped. If the other was truly so seriously injured then getting near him would be most dangerous. He was, after all, a wolf too, and knew perfectly well that when injured one felt at the weakest point. His obaa-san had told him how powerful and proud wolf were…. Tooboe had no desire to risk his life by suddenly awakening the other.

So instead he waited, keeping a silent and worried vigil at his side.

Hours passed, the rain stopped and eventually his promise to keep away fled as the chilly night rolled on and the cold became once more too intense to bear. Patience gave way to exhaustion, and he fell asleep.

And now here he was, half dazed from sleep and cowering in fear from a crazed, feverish, nearly-famished wolf that had _intent murder_ written in bold letters in his eyes. +Or perhaps it says _prey_, too+ the thought echoed on his mind like the thunk of a stone.

His first and most pressing impulse was _to run_. Run for cover, run for his life, run to survive, or merely run for the intense panic he was currently feeling...he wasn't sure of. Only that his terrified instinct was clawing and yelling in his head to turn around and flee as fast as he could, or he would become the wolven equivalent of a hotdog for the other. Yet his feet refused to stop shaking and properly work, instead choosing to nail themselves to the ground for the moment and let the poor boy face this problem unaided.

Tooboe could almost tangibly _feel_ the other's anger in the tenseness of the air. Such was the white wolf's power, that the boy was sure he could see a flaring yellowy aura surrounding him, freezing with it's unleashed greatness everything that came into contact with it.

Tooboe whined, backing away in a painfully slow motion, head downcast and heart pounding in his ears. +Don't look at him in the eyes! Don't look. Don't look. Also, ever run from an angered creature+ he thought. His mind was shivering but distant, naming the things he might need to do, calmly and rationally, while the rest of him tensed over and over like the string of a finely tuned violin as he prepared to flee. Kiba was still standing, but slowly stepped forward, slunkily approaching the desperate pup.

"Runt," he said in low tones through his never wavering growl "What are you doing here?"

Tooboe gave a squeaky yip in surprise when the other addressed him. He blushed slightly, and rushed apologetically. "A-ano…. G-gomen nasai! I didn't mean to wake you…. It's just that it started raining…. I was looking for shelter…. I had never seen a wolf before, and you w-were hurt…. I…eh…. I thought I might help—you. I-I was….worried…. I, eh…." Tooboe stuttered, eyes locked with a vengeance in the muddy cobbles of the ground. He knew he was ranting, barely making sense at all, but he was too scared and trembling non-stop to be able to put mental coherence to good use.

A pause. And the awkward silence bore down again.

"Hn" finally said the other and, just like that, the growl stopped, the aura disappeared and the normal flow of time was restored. Tooboe gasped at the feeling of the spatial tension so suddenly vanishing and raised his eyes…. only to see the retreating figure of the white creature, carefully turn around in his three good legs, and away.

It was something quite unexpected for the young wolf, to say the least. Legs still shaking, heart still pumping too fast for his comfort, Tooboe dumbly stared at his retreating back, watching the half-dead silvery creature move limply. He was struck with the distinct feeling that something was required of him. That something needed to be done.

He blinked several times, trying to come to terms with this sudden change in his mind. But before he could put careful order to this new sensation, his mouth automatically opened, and sound escaped:

"W-wait!" he yelled, frantically moving forward to catch up to the other. He wasn't sure why, but the sudden righteous desire to help the white creature boosted his groveling courage to new heights. "You're hurt—I can help you!" He panted. Finally reaching the other, and rounding him, Tooboe stood at his front.

Thus, Kiba found himself the receptor of the widest, most pleading gaze he had ever seen anyone bestow him. The boy's eyes, a feature from the other that, up until now, Kiba hadn't paid attention to, were of a rich shade of light brown; like warm honey. And they reflected such care, such _need_ to help, that Kiba absently wondered if he wasn't being mistaken with someone else.

"Help me?" Kiba snorted. +Only a pet can have such silly notions up his head+ Then, derisively, with eyes narrowing in disgust he continued out loud. "What can a lap dog like you do for me?"

Tooboe gasped, unconsciously giving a step back.

For a long moment, in which Tooboe had ample time to reconsider his rushed actions, neither of them spoke. +He bears such hatred in those words….why+ "D-demo….Your wound is infected, and you need rest! You're p-probably hungry. If you want, I can—"

"Shut up!" the white wolf suddenly snarled out. He met the small wolf's eyes and stared at him coldly for a moment. "Tsk. Get out of here, runt. I don't need anything from _you._"

Limping, Kiba started forward, passing next to Tooboes side….and away. Hunched figure tense from the pain, steps slightly faltering and white tail softly swishing with the movement, the first and only other wolf Tooboe had ever seen in the entirety of his life, disappeared round a corner.

The coppery-colored wolf stood dumbfounded, staring. An alien sense of _deja vù_ hit him as he watched, for the second time in less than five minutes, the other disappear, swallowed by the heavy night that surrounded them. In the span of only a few hours, something major and indescribable had happened around him. In this dark, bubble-like city he had thought he was the only one that didn't fit, didn't belong. Now, he'd found _another_ that had no home to go back to.

And in the depths of his heart he _knew_ they'd cross paths again.

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"_Everything's clearer now._

_Life is just a dream, you know_

_That's never ending_

_I'm ascending…."_

"_Blue" from Cowboy Bebop._

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**A/N:** Oy, Kiba looks more like Tsume with each passing chapter, ne? Oh, well, can't be helped. It's just the way I see his character, that's all. Anyway, thank you very much for taking time reading my story and for your reviews and support (they're always a help when inspiration refuses to cooperate) and see you around.

Keep on **reviewing**, please! )

C.o.m.t.e.s.s.a

"The surge, that night/left me the customary shreds and odd ends/some hated friends to chat with/music for dreams/and the smoking of bitter ashes."

J.L.B.


	5. Chapter 04:

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Wolf's Rain.

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:TOWARDS A LOST PARADISE:

a Wolf's Rain fanfiction

by C.o.m.t.e.s.s.a

**: CHAPTER 4:**

: Howling for a White Heaven :

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"_I hear a voice…._

_A voice resounding through the sky_

_that stopped crying._

_It has shot through the target of my heart."_

_:"Cloud 9" from Wolf's Rain:_

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"…." Talking

….+ Thoughts

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The brown haired boy sat silently on the sidewalk's curb, knees drawn up, arms surrounding them. He was pondering.

Across the street _"La vie en Rose"_ Cafe-slash-Restaurant stood, it's deteriorated gray and black façade tightly cramped between two five-stories buildings.

The boy frowned and focused coppery eyes on the big window at the entrance of the Cafe. Through it's once crystal-clear pane Tooboe hungrily watched two women sitting one across the other at a low table, calmly munching down a pie.

Narrowing his eyes and slightly leaning forward, he tried guessing the pie's oh-so-tasty contents. +Is it a meat pie? Mmm…. No, I don't think so…there's something pink there….Perhaps it's salmon, or ham+ Now closing his eyes and taking a deep breath he focused on trying to identify the scents wafting from the depths of the small Cafe. Several pictures danced in his mind's eye, each belonging to what his nose picked up in the air. Finally, he concluded +It's a ham-and-cheese hot pie, with double-flavor and the special Pin-Pin´ spice+ He absently licked his lips +Yes, that's definitely it+ But, with the culinary assertion, came the much painful physical consequence, and in the silence of the Dome, a hungry stomach grumbled.

Tooboe winced and patted his soared tummy. He sighed defeatedly. +I'm hungry….and restaurant-gazing isn't helping+

Propping his chin on his hand, he stared at the cobbles of the street despondently.

The midday sun peeked momentarily through it's cloudy cradle, lighting up the depths of the Dome city. For the space of only a few seconds, light flooded it all, alighting the normally depressing atmosphere of the bubbled city. Tooboe smiled wanly and closed his eyes to savor the welcomy reprieve. But too soon the sun hid again and a chill ran through the boy's back. Suppressing a groan, Tooboe squished himself more tightly inside the folds of his maroon jacket and rested his forehead against his knees. "I'm tired," he whispered to himself "I want to go home…" His eyes misted as the image of that solitary, damp basement he called home´ hovered in his mind.

Two days had passed since the last time he'd dared set a foot in that house. He didn't know why but ever since that last fateful night spent there, writhing under the grasp of deep nightmares, he simply could not bring himself to go back.

Why do I feel like this+ he sighed +I've never felt so….miserable before…and lonely….I miss having company at home. Everything seems so pressing´ when there's no one+ Stealthily, a pair of amber eyes swiftly passed through his mind. Hard, frozen eyes that had shone with pain and an emptiness that to Tooboe had seemed larger than life. Yet, something else was there….a fire, a flaring resolution to never give up, to remain´ through it all that gave those eyes, and the owner of them, its oddly rare quality.

Tooboe, chin still propped on his knees, let his eyes roam the street ahead. The movement of the city's life was soothing his frazzled thoughts. +I wonder how Ookami-sans doing+ he thought for probably the thousand's time in the last two days. Tooboe had taken to calling the white wolf he'd met two nights prior Ookami-san´. As he didn't know it's name he figured that was the best option he could think of. Not that he had told anybody about him –who was there for him to tell anyway?- but the image and scent of the other had lately lingered more and more _persistently_ in his head; and so, Tooboe´d named him thus.

I'm worried about him. Did he heal his wound? Did he found food? Is he lost? Is he resting somewhere….and what if someone attacked him while sleeping+ Tooboes mind fretted.

"Is he even still in the city?" the simple question escaped his lips like a quite murmur. For some reason every time he thought about it, about never seen the white wolf again, his stomach knotted painfully.

Sighing –an action that had lately become a habit to him- the brown haired boy stood up and cracked his back.

Looking ahead wistfully one more time to the now cookies-and-coffee eating females, he began to walk down the street, hands crossed over behind his head.

His mind was reeling with images of the wolf. He didn't know why but he felt completely drawn to him. Though they'd only been acquainted for the space of only some minutes, which had been full of growls and cold threats on the part of the other and embarrassing whimpers and fearful trembles from him, Tooboe could not help turning those instants around in his mind, over and over again. A comprehensible fact if one takes in consideration it had been the _first_ time he'd stared at the Wilderness in the face.

And Wild it had been indeed.

A long lean body that, though hurt and on the bony side of the scale, exuded power. Eyes that stared hard and unyielding at you, betraying no fear or doubt. An animal made for the kill. Pure savagery on feet.

And Tooboe could not help falling under it's spell, the bewitching song of the mountains and raw life. He was drawn by the wolf's mysteries and concealed secrets from lands beyond the Dome. Places far away from the god-forsaken, bubbled, apathetic existence he currently lead.

We're so different….+ he wistfully thought +Ookami-san must be proud and strong….while I….I'm merely a sad excuse for a wolf that even birds can easily beat up.+ Sourly he remembered a not so old episode with some crows on the street of the Meat Market. "Stupid birds," he muttered, brows furrowing in annoyance. "If it hadn't been for them I would've gotten some sausages, not been starving out here in th--" his tirade was abruptly cut by a distant sound. He immediately looked up, following it.

A faint far cry arose above the buzz of the midday city air. It soared with a swift up rush, persistently, palpitant and tense….until reaching its peak note, where it slowly began to die away.

For a moment everything stilled, as if it hadn't been a cry but a ghost….the phantom wail of a lost soul howling to the skies in misery.

Some people turned their eyes upwards too, worried expressions on their faces.

"What do you think _that_ was?" "It felt so near! Do you think…." "Perhaps it was the Nobles doings….?" "Yeah, I think they caught another one to torture, them crazy scientists!" "But is ha—"

Tooboe could hear them all, all the murmurs and whispers moving back and forth between the mouths of the citizens, but he paid them no heed. For the humans it was just another typical anomaly, a crazy consequence of living so near the Scientists Research Grounds. But to Tooboe it was a _sign_.

The howl was a Call.

"Ookami-san!" He mindlessly dashed forward, skipping his own legs as his ears perked up trying to pinpoint the source of the wolf's cry. +I'm coming+

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In the intersection between the Rowden Street and the Clothes Crafters Boulevard, a girl sat propped against the façade of her house.

Her legs were crossed and the long dirty-yellow folds of her skirt spread wide around her.

Her brows were furrowed, coal-coloured eyes intent on the task at hand, her small pink tongue peaking out through the corner of her mouth. Her tiny hands moved quickly. First measuring then folding and refolding again. Shanna was her name, and in her hands she held the means to her future fortune.

Squared pieces of rose-coloured paper.

She was making paper flowers out of them. Or at least, _trying to_.

She'd felt lucky that morning no sooner she woke up, so she had gone out as always to walk around the Clothes Crafters Boulevard in search of discarded pieces of cloth or rags. She used them to sew patches in her father's and brother's clothes, or, if Lady Luck was on her side and linens in abundance, to make new ones too. Great had been her surprise when on Tono-sans garbage she'd stumbled upon a folded bundle. At opening it, she'd seen light, almost see-through paper inside. It was the _butter-paper_ used by designers to make molds for dresses. She'd squealed in glee at the prospect of using it herself to design her own clothes, but as she was returning home, something in the Toys Shop caught her attention. A little light-bulb had flared in her mind as a new plan formed.

Up until now, all her attempts at paper-flower handicraft had been sadly pathetic. Her fourteen-years old hands and imagination should be, by now, more than used to dealing in delicate matters like folding and twisting….she had been sewing and maintaining her family's wardrobe for more than five years now. Yet still, this task presented itself as…. Impossible. +To Hell! I'll do this even if I become a prune trying+

This—stupid piece of—paper—will do—as—I say+

"Ha! Done!" She held the finished one up to the skies in self-proclaimed victory, a beaming smile on her face. "Now, twenty more of you and I'll be able to get enough money to buy the twirling….ehmm…bubbly thing," she said, doing rapid mental equations. The picture of the crystal ball filled with a liquid of changing colours and a dancing maiden twirling in the middle moved through her mind, making her mouth water in anticipation at the desire to possess the rare toy. She'd seen it only once at the Toy Shop, but already she'd made up her mind to have it +….whatever the cost.+

To ask for it to her tou-san was out of the question. He could barely support hers and her twin brother's maintenance with his underpaid job at the Nobles Coal Mines, lest he'd be able to buy a useless _toy_ for her.

It doesn't matter. I'll get it myself, even if I have to spend all day folding up these stupid flowers+ she firmly grounded with her usual hard-headed determination.

Picking the finished flower up and putting it inside her dressess pocket, she readied herself to start another.

A minute went slowly by, followed by a second and a third. The pale light of the sun peaked out through heavy gray-green clouds when suddenly she heard the howl rising to the sky.

Shanna halted her task and, startled, looked up.

It was such a weird sound that, at first, she thought it might come from the Research Center. +But it doesn't seem to be coming from that direction….instead from….+ It had been near, she knew. As it rose in height and pitch, she could almost feel it sliding down her spine, resonating in her very bones.

Shivering, Shanna drew her arms around her, and moved them quickly up and down, hoping the friction might erase the sudden uncomfortable feeling.

"What is that thing?" she mumbled, looking to her right where the cry

if it could be called so- seemed to come from.

It was tense, strong…. and way too near for her comfort, yet at the same time so…._distant_, as if not being uttered now, but coming from the very depths of Time. A sadness and loneliness that knew no name.

Just as quickly as it started though, it stopped, wavering away to never be heard of again.

Shanna breathed out the air she didn't know she'd been holding.

So weird. I wonder what could've made it….+ Her thoughts were cut short, though, by a chilly breeze that passed blowing the scraps of paper on her skirt away.

The odd moment forgotten, she hurriedly scrambled up to retrieve them. "Oy, damn!"

It proved to be no easy task, of course. The coy breeze had taken them up in its airy folds, spreading them around. Panting, the girl followed. Her arms were outstretched and she shouted her indignation for the world to hear.

And the world paid her no heed.

Her feet padded rapidly in half-cobbled ground as she swiftly passed trash cans, street benders and people walking peacefully about, oblivious in their cold misery to the girl's distress.

She bumped against heavy-dressed ladies shopping, shouted a quick apology to some random boys when she stepped in the middle of their imaginary soccer field, and finally, panting hard with the chilly winter air creating puffy clouds as it left her now blue-tinged lips, Shanna stopped.

The last four or five pieces of the offending papers laid innocently at her feet, floating in a big black mud puddle.

Crap+ She groaned and cursed loudly at Lady Luck for the bitch she was being lately, using all the swear words she'd learned from her temperamental brothers.

"Dammit! Why me! Why doesn't anything _ever_ go my way, for once! This is so unfair." She knew she was behaving childishly, but +Oh, what the Hell, if I feel like throwing a temper tantrum, I will. And I'll enjoy it, too+ Stomping, cursing and in general, venting off her bottled up fury, Shanna fell on her hands and knees to collect the papers.

"I swear for that big, bearded Kami up there that the day something _ever_ comes out the way I want will be the day onii-sanll put to good use the hard muscle his got up the head, or pigs fly or moneyll rain down t—Ow!" she abruptly turned angry eyes up from her now sprawled-on-her-bottom position on the muddy ground. Someone had just unceremoniously stumbled upon her.

"Hey, you! Watch were you're going, you ass!" she bit out.

The figure on the floor next to her, whom to Shannas morbid pleasure had fallen face first in mud, groaned in pain and slowly sat up. It was a boy slightly older than her. A dirty, sored, now half-dazed boy. +And quite pretty, too+ she distantly conceded.

"G-gomen ne," he croaked, wincing as he massaged his sored forehead and cheek. " I wasn't paying attention. It's all my fault," he looked apologetically at her.

Shanna blinked. Never had _anyone_ ever apologized to her. Usually they'd just yell back or simply walked away….but this! This was definitely new. So, despite all her efforts to remain angry, Shanna found herself blushing and stuttering a "no, that's okay."

"No, it's not! Are you hurt? Does it hurt somewhere?" The boy asked, standing up and reaching out his hand to help her stand. Then, he clumsily helped her brush the mud off the dress and pick up the once again spread about papers.

"Kuso!" she muttered as the only two flowers she'd manage to make and the rest of her work material laid wet and dirty in her hands. She sighed. +They're ruined….+

"Oh, no….I'm so _so_ sorry. If I hadn't—now they wouldn't be—and you're all dirty, too….this is—I—I'm sorry" he said hurriedly, looking at the remnants of his blunder in her hands.

She shook her head. +Oh, unfair Kami. You make me bump with an idiot with big soulful eyes.+ Aloud, though, she forcibly smiled and said through gritted teeth. "It's ok. I'll….eh….get more, don't worry. Something'll come up."

The boy, though, wasn't paying much attention. He was frantically digging through his pockets. Suddenly, he stopped and stared intently at his left hand. He seemed to be deeply pondering something. Then, he closed his eyes and sighed. With his right hand, he removed a small object from his left wrist. Holding it to his chest for a moment, he abruptly fixed intent eyes on her.

Shanna blinked, and blushed.

He took one step forward. Bowing deeply, he reached the object out to her.

Now, she merely gaped, shocked.

It was a bracelet, a simple golden band that was probably made out of coloured metal or even plastic. But it was very thin and pretty in its simplicity, shinning in the yellow's different hues according to how the light touched it.

As the seconds passed and she merely stared, Tooboe fidgeted.

"Ehmm….I-I know it's not much but I don't have any money or anything valuable, so….ehmm…." he peaked up a her through brown bangs. "Please accept this as repayment."

Shannas mouth, that had closed itself sometime during his speech, once more fell open in surprise. +What the-+ This boy wanted to repay having ruined some, and being completely honest here, already ruined scraps of paper she'd found on someone else's garbage with a, though obviously cheap, ten times better bracelet!

She chuckled, and then erupted in a full blown laugh, teary eyes, tummy ache and all. Gods! The idea was so….so…._ludicrous_ she felt she was going to explode!

Meanwhile, it was Tooboes turn to stare. And gape. The only-two-minutes-ago-wrath-induced´ girl was now laughing her head off, and not so metaphorically, either. Her cheeks were bright red, eyes streaming down tears, and she was hugging her middle as if her entrails were burning. Little did Tooboe know, that's _exactly_ how Shanna felt at the moment.

Oh, Kami, I'm dying here! Ahahahahaha+ she thought, gasping for air to calm herself.

Little by little, she began to regain some semblance of composure. Rubbing the corner of her eyes, she said "….oh Kami. Ah, look, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have blown up on you like that but," she smirked "you don't need to give me anything, ok? It was just some pieces of paper´. So, no harm done. Really."

Tooboe shook his head negatively and pressed the small metal band on her hands. He needed to repay her, after all. It was a matter of principles, ingrained in his head since his cub years by his obaa-san. _If ever you damage anything, child, you incur in a debt that must be repaid. Remember this carefully, for it is what prevents us from becoming savages.´_

"No, no. I _did_ ruin your papers, and your flowers, and your dress, too! You _have_ to accept it, please," he pressed.

"But—oh, don't be stupid! It was some paper I found lying around and this," she looked down, twirling the bracelet in her fingers "this is….ehmm….plastic?" she ventured, quirking an eyebrow.

Tooboe blushed, his right hand going absently to play with something inside the sleeve on his left wrist. +No, it's my only memory of obaa-san+

"Iie. It's bronze" he mumbled.

"Well, see? It's not worth the trade" she finished, smiling. No one had ever been so….solicitous with her before. It was a nice change, she thought.

"But, if you don't take it, how am I going to repay you? I-I bumped you, knocked you in mud, destroyed your….work. What if you'd been hurt? No, I already feel bad for the flowers….I just don't want to feel I owe you, too" he trailed off, looking down.

Shanna rolled her eyes exasperatedly. Though very endearing of him to be so worried, it was starting to become mildly irritating. Scratching her head in thought, and idea popped in her brain.

Rummaging in the big front pocket of her dress, she retrieved out something. It was a carefully rolled up paper. It was shinny and white in colour, with very small patterns of silver thread and a little floral scent of some kind. Tooboe sniffed the air slightly. He'd never smell anything like it before, and couldn't help smiling at its pleasantness.

It was, no doubt, a present-wrapping paper, and the scent was that of Sky Jasmine. Shannad found it in the dumpster bundle, along with the rest and had saved it to make a different bouquet for her tou-san. He liked flowers just as much as her kaa-san had.

Shrugging, Shanna began folding it meticulously as she'd done with the others. +Oh, well, let's pray that with this he stops bugging.+

Once she finished, she presented the paper flower to him. "Seeing as you won't give up, let's make a deal. Your bracelet for my flower, how bout that?"

Tooboe looked at the flower in surprise and was about to open his mouth to refuse when Shanna cut him up.

"Take it or leave it, but I won't have you giving me your damn bangle any other way. It's obvious your attached to it and am still not sure why you keep insisting anyway. So, what it'll be?"

Tooboe blinked, stunned. But then, seeing the resolution on the girl's black-coloured eyes, he relented. That and also because she had a quite dangerous annoyed twinkle in her eyes, like saying "push it and I'll throttle you."

"O-kay" he said, and the exchange was made.

The boy took the paper flower and brought it up for inspection. It wasn't much. Just a wrapped and twirled-on-itself paper. He sniffed it and smiled, amazed. "Hey, it looks real! And scented too!"

Shanna laughed. "You haven't seen many flowers before, now have you? Of course it's not even _close_ to a real one! And the scent is that of jasmine, I think."

"Oh." He moved the flower this way and that, drinking in its every detail, as if it held many mysteries. "Mmm….what kind of flower is it?"

"I don't know. The only kind I know how to make, I suppose." She shrugged. "They're all the same."

"But, doesn't it….oh, I don't know, _resemble_ some real flower or something?"

Shanna pondered this and searched in the recesses of her mind. Her mother had been the one to teach her how to make them, when she was still alive. She'd been an ikebana´ designer and her passion for flowers had reflected everywhere, even in her children. She'd been very keen arranging them and creating them out of paper, too. She could make many different kinds. Sadly, Shanna hadn't been able to acquire her innate ability, and the only she could make were….what was their name? White´….it was White´ something. White Cloud? White Sky?….White—White—

"Heaven!" she said abruptly, hitting her right fist against the palm of her left for emphasis. "They're called White Heaven´. My okaa-san taught bout them."

"White Heaven, huh?" Tooboe whispered, still staring at it. Somehow, it suited the delicate pearly-white thing perfectly. Smiling warmly, he bowed to her. "Doumo arigatou gozaimasu. It is beautiful."

Then, straightening, he asked "Can I ask you something? Did you hear a….ehmm….cry near here? I was sort of following it but I lost track."

Shanna blinked and nodded. "Yes, I did. It was some time ago." She looked around to get her bearings in where the Hell she had ended up after running so recklessly. She signaled with her hand up ahead, beyond a damp alley. "If I'm not mistaken, it should've come from there. Though I'm not very sure, I was some blocks away when it happened." Then Shanna gazed at him quizzically. "Why are you following it? Do you know who did it?"

"Iie" Tooboe rushed to answer "I'm just curious, that's all." He bowed again "Arigatou for your help….ehmm…what's your name?"

Shanna smiled, and extended her hand "Shanna. And yours?"

"Ah, it's Tooboe" he shook her hand, and for an instant she dazedly thought it felt…._furry? _Blinking and shaking her head to clear it she said:

"Tooboe?" she chuckled "that's a weird name…."

Tooboe flushed slightly. "Mmm….anyway, arigatou for your help, Shanna-san. It was nice meeting you." Flashing her a smile, he skipped away.

Shanna waved a slight good-by and stared after him. +Such an odd boy….+ Then, she blinked and gasped, awestruck.

For a moment there, she thought she saw the boy….vanish and a dog of a sort, run where he'd been.

Rubbing her eyes with the back of her hands, she fixed again her eyes on him. Already Tooboe was quite far away, but he was a _boy_ alright, **not** a dog.

Shanna shook her head and turned around intending on going back home. +Ok. Recount of the afternoon: first a creepy cry, then my work_-and_ backside- ruined by pretty-eyed, goody-goody-too-shoes boy that doesn't know the first thing about the workings of the world if his trading skills are to be taken seriously….and now I'm seeing things.+ She sighed +Oh, great Kami what a lousy joker you are with me.+

Tooboe trotted through the empty streets of this old part of the Dome. His head moved this way and that, nose and ears alert for any signs of the other. By his changing surroundings Tooboe knew he was nearing the Southern Wall of the Dome, the abandoned part, where the old Factory had resided.

The place was more like a huge hole in the ground than a part of a city. Pieces of once tall structures laid spread about in the space of several kilometers. Moss, ivy, and some weird looking trees had pervaded through everything, taking permanent residence. It was ruins and desolation. Vestiges of the human's destructive prowess. Amongst themselves.

Once this part had flourished thanks to the Factory, a place ruled by the Scientists that had housed and given work to thousands of people. But a revolution had taken place, and now only this sad picture of devastation remained; devastation and destruction that the citizens of the Dome had been subject to in the hands of the Scientists own Military Force-SMF- five years ago, on the times of the Great Strike.

The Nobles hadn't taken lightly being opposed to, even by mere citizens with clubs and rocks, so they'd retaliated with the latest weaponry, annihilating a quarter of the city's population, and completely erasing the Southern Side from the map.

Tooboe shivered. He'd witnessed the destruction first hand, heard the human's wails well into the night, seen their shredded bodies….too many to even try remembering, decomposing under that summer's sun. At the time, he and his obaa-san had fled to the Northern Part, away from the gas clouds and constant military pursuits. When everything had calmed, they'd returned home next to the other refugees. Those had been difficult times, were food and water had been scarce.

The Nobles had cut them, thus punishing the entire city for their rebellion. So, next to the ones that had died on the Strike, many others joined quickly afterwards, dying of famine, inanition or sickness.

Tooboe shook his head +And all that just for some petty political disagreement+

He moved through the detritus carefully, avoiding long spear-shaped pieces of metal here and chunks of buildings there. After the failure and collapse of the People's Revolutionary Front, this side of the city had been cleared of any living thing by the Scientistss Sweepers. _A warning,´_ his obaa-san had said _to remind us all whom we serve…. And what happens to those who disagree.´_

But, with the passing of time, and as all Military and policiacal movement disappeared from the site, gangs and rebel groups began hanging about the place and marked it as their own.

Swiftly, Tooboe skipped some cement rocks an moved towards the remnants of an edifice. Only it's lower part remain, for the top had been knocked down and spread in huge chunks all around it.

Approaching from a side he peaked inside and sniffed +Safe+ his mind supplied. Tooboe stumbled inside, moving through the darkness and up a set of barely half-standing concrete stairs.

His heart was beating madly and his palms felt sweaty as they slid through the right side wall. The place was so spooky and shabby that it was giving him the creeps.

Up he went, through one, two, three sets of stairs. He clumsily skipped rocks and assorted unknown things covered in dust or mud. At one point, though, he reached the top floor.

Stopping, Tooboe looked around. Again, he was facing the outside world, looking at it from the edge of the third floor's cement platform formed by the building's top-half-off.

Tooboe walked forward a few steps and, with surprising agility, jumped up and stood on the thin edge of a wall.

Reaching his head up, he sniffed the air. Dust, ashes, churned rocks….and the lingering scent of old death. It was the acrid smell of destruction and time….yet still no white wolf to be scented.

Tooboes mood dropped. +Perhaps Ookami-sans not here anyway+ He sighed. +It's useless….I won't ever see him again.+

He dejectedly sat on the wall's brink. The cold breeze swayed his bangs sympathetically in slow motion and he closed his eyes, shunning the foul view. The silence surrounding was complete, except for the soft swish of the wind passing through rock crevices and removing dust and debris.

"Oh, this is blithely stupid," he scolded himself aloud. " I can't be seriously expecting to pick up his scent from up here! Besides, he could be anywhere. Maybe, not even in the Dome anymore. Argh. If I had followed him when I had the chance….". Faintly Tooboe admitted that that wouldn't have been possible anyway.

He'd have teared me to shreds. Now that I think about it, what tells me he won't try this time, too+ He shrugged. +I don't care. He needs help and I'll make sure he gets it. Even if I have to force it on him.+

He didn't stop to think on the somewhat small problem of him never having fought before, or the other's twice-his-size-and-experience-on- the-biting-you-head-off field.

Standing up he jumped down from his perch. Once again his resolution to search for the white wolf was flaring. But as he was nearing the stairs to make his descent, Tooboe froze.

Sniff sniff He jerked his head to his right, high up, and inhaled again. Dirt, mud, but also very, very faintly was the distinct scent of cold electricity, like a brewing snowstorm.

It's him+ he internally squealed, rushing to the right edge +I can smell it, it's him! Where….where are you+ He forced himself to focus, to tune every other scent brought by the distant winds out, carefully analyzing everything. +It's so faint I can't—There+ His eyes flew open and fixed upon the debris of another fallen building, where a huge oak tree seemed to be sprouting from.

"I'm coming," he mumbled, more a reassurance for himself than anything else. Rushing down, he jumped and passed blindly through the edifice's interior once again.

"Wait for me, Ookami-san!"

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_"The wild sleeping within is driving me_

_to the eternal, endless, irreplaceable dream._

_Like a climber ascending to the summit,_

_I want to reach someday the place of beatitude._

_So I'll keep on walking,_

_Because I am the child of the journey._

_I hear a voice,_

_From beyond the sky that stopped crying._

_I am waiting for you.´"_

_:"Cloud 9" from Wolf's Rain:_

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**TRANSLATIONS:**

**Ookami: **wolf

**Onii-san: **older brother/s

**Gomen ne:** I'm sorry

**Iie: **no

**Otou-san: **father

**Okaa-san: **mother

**Doumo arigatou gozaimasu: **thank you very much.

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**Author's Note: **Well, here you go chapter 04. Phew! It was a long one, a bit pointless for now but, you'll see...soon everything will make sense ) Anyway, thanks to Myaa for her review! This chapter is in your honor!

Remember: doubts, questions, feedback and death threats are very welcome, so **Review!**

C.o.m.t.e.s.s.a.

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_"The big wave brought you/ words, any words/ your laughter/ and you so lazy and incessantly beautiful/...we talked and you have forgotten the words..."_

_J.L.B._


	6. Chapter 05:

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Wolf's Rain.

-()()()()

:TOWARDS A LOST PARADISE:

a Wolf's Rain fanfiction

by C.o.m.t.e.s.s.a

**:CHAPTER 5:**

:Finding you:

-()()()()

"_I close my eyes and I keep seeing things,_

_rainbow waterfalls,_

_sunny liquid dreams._

_Confusion creeps inside me, reigning doubt,_

_Want to get to know you_

_But I don't know how."_

_:"Call me, call me" from Cowboy Bebop:_

_-()()()()_

".…" talking

(….) thinking

-()()()()

In the heap of a fallen edifice, amidst a great block of askew rocks and debris, a huge tree stood. Tall and lush branches massed together in a profound green of leaves, contrasting against the gray of the ground and the sky. At it's feet a mass of huge roots embraced the remnants of the building, protruding like veins. Between them a small cave opened, and it was there where the last wolf that came from the Wild laid asleep.

No sooner had his eyes opened, though that he groaned.

(Not _him_ again…)

Kibad awoken to the feeling a splitting headache and the most brilliant smile he'd ever seen shinning his way.

(I wonder if he's ever pulled a muscle, smiling like that…) he mused distantly.

Hovering closely over him was the pup he'd seen before; the same strands of coppery hair falling over his big, identically coloured eyes like an upturned bowl of noodles. The same pointy, innocent face. The same goofy smile. The same whiff of wilderness and humans.

Kiba tried to control his instinctive glare, but failed.

Baring his fangs he asked evenly. "What do you want this time?"

Tooboe cringed. Slowly, he sat up from his position on all fours and surveyed the fallen wolf. He was on his side, legs stretched in front of him, deeply submerged in the depths of a cave at the roots of a huge oak tree, barely discernable in the tree's darkness.

He smiled inwardly at the deja vù. (Ookami-san was lying like this the first time I saw him.)

Quickly though, he remembered he still had to answer. "Anou, I'm glad I finally found you," Tooboe replied a tad nervously but grinning. "I wasn't sure if I'd see you again, you know? It's really hard to find your scent on the city, and I'm not very good using my nose anyway but I smelled the wind and it told me where you were and I was really glad to find you because I was worried you might have got lost, you know? It's really hard here in the city, cause one never knows what might happen and you can end up st—"

"Stop for a minute, will you?" Kiba groaned and wobbly stood up. "You're giving me migraine."

Silently, the white wolf moved out of the tree's shelter and unhurriedly down the enormous pile of stone rubble the tree was lying on. Tooboe blinked a couple of times and pursued him hot on the other's heels.

"Ne, wait! You're hurt, why don't you let me see the wound?" he followed the other hurriedly. "Please, I know how to treat them, my granny taught me and…please, I just want to help you." He stopped, his voice fading in a strained whisper.

Kiba stopped too, eyes narrowing.

The soft rustle of the wind blew dust and the chills of a locked up, human made winter. It made the fur of the older wolf move languidly, tail barely swishing. His aura was tense and as chilling as the weather.

He raised his head and without turning grumbled, "Why?"

"Wha-what?" Tooboe stuttered, caught off guard.

This time, Kiba did turn. His handsome wolfish features were void of emotion, yet his eyes, such rich gold-coloured eyes had a frozen quality…as if the pure rage of a winter storm were looking directly at you.

Tooboe couldn't help but quiver were he stood.

"Why?" Kiba repeated evenly. "Why do you want to help? What are you trying to gain?"

"Nothing! I- I don't want nothing in return, really!" Tooboe hurriedly said, eyes wide with sincerity.

Kiba raised an eyebrow, clearly stating he didn't believe a word. "You're are not only a pet, then but also a fool." One more time he turned, and began walking. "Every one wants something."

Tooboe trotted behind, eyes slightly downcast. Rapidly gaining courage, he refused to give up. "That's not true. People help each other sometimes without wanting nothing of it."

Kiba huffed. "You should know more. I don't mix with _people_."

Tooboe quickly fixed his eyes on the other's back, not really sure how to answer.

Silence fell between them. Only their muted steps –and Kibas dragging his wounded leg- was heard moving throughout scorching cold streets and alleys. Everything was half falling to pieces on the old part of the Dome. Buildings, vegetation, everything had seemed to somehow _merge_ with each other to create a sort of bubbled Amazonian ruins picture.

Tooboe looked from one side to the other, ears alert and nose wrinkling. (This place gives me the creeps...) Silently, he quickened his pace and approached Kiba a little more for safety's sake.

"Where are you from?" Kibas low voice said smoothly, finally breaking the long silence and slicing the tension between them like a sword's blade.

Tooboe jerked away from his paranoid speculations and looked in wonderment at the other. (This is the first time he asks me something, and nicely too…)

"I…ehmm…I'm not quite sure. My obaa-san found me lying at the Dome's entrance when I was very little, so…" Tooboes voice trailed off and he made a slight gesture with his right paw that Kiba, for being ahead, obviously lost.

"Hn."

Tooboe sweat dropped. The order's chatting abilities were outstanding. He smiled ruefully, I'll have to do the talking, then.´ "And you, ookami-san? Where are you from?"

Kiba raised a pristine eyebrow, golden eyes peering back through his left shoulder. Ookami-san? Where did that come from?´ Shrugging, he replied evenly, "The Eastern Realm, near the Three Peaks and the Howling Mountains."

Tooboe cocked his head to a side, puzzled. "Anou…and where is that?"

Kiba sighed. (I should've known he wouldn't understand…) "Away to the East," he replied simply, not finding another way to explain.

"Oh," the coppery wolf said, biting his lower lip in concentration. "Sou desu ne…is it cold there, too? What is a mo- mountain like?" he asked with a slight waver, as the path they where now moving across was full of spiky detritus.

Tooboe jumped from rock to rock unsteadily, mutedly praying to every god above to not let him fall face first in front of the other. Meanwhile, some paces ahead, Kiba moved quite gracefully –though strenuously, too. His muscles ached and the left hind leg sizzled with every jerk or pull he played on it, yet his proud demeanor would not be diminished. Limping, he made his way down and about, muzzle tightly shut to avoid any sound to be voiced.

Behind him, Tooboe suddenly slipped. With a cry, he tumbled down in a painful cloud of stones and dust. Finally he stopped, undignifieingly sprawled at the other's feet. Through his coppery fur he blushed and nervously laughed as he stood up on four shaky legs.

Kiba fixed his amber eyes on Tooboe, a tad amused at his antics. In the canvas of his mind, images of the chubby, snow-coloured pups of his pack appeared, wrestling and growling as they fake-fought against each other on the mountain's hidden valleys. Thirteen they were on the last count, all bubbly energy, full of life. Thirteen they had been, corpses lying at his feet, furs rimed with the blue of frost and the angry red of blood, vacant eyes forever staring at the future that extinction had deprived them of.

(They are all dead.) A pang in his heart.

Kiba turned around and hissed as his hind leg jerked in a bad movement. Tooboe immediately jumped off the last ledge, worry overriding his past embarrassment.

"Ookami-san, you're bleeding!" His wolven form rippled away, and a boy stood in it's place, rapidly approaching the other's left rear intent on inspecting the wound.

But Kiba was faster and in a blur of white leaped away, a deep growl reverberating on his chest.

"Don't touch me!" he rasped. "Just stay away."

Tooboe took some steps back, chewing the right side of his lower lip. Kiba shifted his gaze from the boy and slid it through the empty streets. It had been a mistake coming here, the scent of moon flowers had apparently vanished. Again and again…I tire of Rakuens hide-and-seek games.´ He needed to get away quickly, to continue his hunt for the hana no shoujo. He needed to put some distance between himself and the strange boy, between his present and the dead past.

But Tooboe had something else planned. He wouldn't miss another chance, wouldn't cower again. Standing up as straight and stiff as possible, fisting his hands in order for them to stop shaking so much, he inhaled deeply and said, "No."

Kibas brows lowered dangerously.

Tooboe swallowed. Oh, Kami what am I doing! He's going to chew my head off!´ Breathing noticeably a couple of times more to calm his thrumming heart and frightful thoughts, he repeated more firmly. "No, I won't go away. Don't be so obstinate, ookami-san, you need help," The boy's eyes gleamed, his face slightly pouty. "Please, come with me and I'll see to your wounds. I swear that once you're ok, I won't bother you anymore."

Kiba snorted. "And what makes you think I need _your_ help?"

Tooboe raised his left eyebrow. Crossing both arms behind his head, he kicked a stray pebble on the ground. "Well…because you are bleeding your life off, famelic and reeking of dead dog." Blinking, he blushed and fastly covered his mouth with both hands. (Oh my god Oh my god Oh my god! I just said that out loud!)

He extended an appeasing hand, nervously laughing and feeling flustered. He did not know what to do to pacify the wolf and at the same time try to find a quick way out of there with all his body parts intact. But to his surprise, Kiba didn't jump to his throat in bloody carnage as he thought he would but instead barked in sudden laughter. Tooboe gaped. He couldn't help blushing more furiously now, at the same time commenting in rapid succession, "G-gomen-nasai! I didn't mean to offend you. Really, it just slipped my mind, not that any of it is true, of course. Though…well perhaps the part were you are bleeding, because you _are_ bleeding, you know, and you look hungry, too. But you don't smell, no, y-you don't smell like a dead dog. And you don't look like one, because, of course you are not a dog and not dead and…" Looking at the other's now once again blank expression, he droned off, "I think I'm going to shut up now…"

His eyes fixed on the ground, left hand nervously twitching on his right jacket sleeve. (I might as well close my mouth, cause every time I open it I end up screwing things up further, anyway.)

Meanwhile, Kiba mentally sighed. The boy was so odd and bloody _persistent_ that it defied the laws of all that was patience!

He stared at the other.

For a moment, he let himself doubt.

And instantly he felt tired, his heart aching with a strange new heaviness. He had walked the world for days, had lost centuries of his life sailing through the blurry fields of the world in an endless search. All he had once known and cherished in the world had been swiftly brushed off of existence and he had been unpreparedly thrown in the search of a mythical legend in hopes that perhaps, _maybe,_ if he tried hard enough, he'd be rewarded with a place to rest, a Paradise like he'd known in the peaks of his mountains and green valleys of old. (But now… I don't feel like going on.) He blinked in surprise at his own treacherous thoughts.

Fixing piercing eyes on the still muted boy, he considered this new turn of events. Before, the mere suggestion of giving up the search would not have been even considered by his mind, but now the rumor of this light discovery, the figure of this abandoned young wolf that was just as helplessly alone as he was in a world that now undoubtly belonged to the humans, made him pause.

The boy was offering help, shelter and food in exchange of only some meager companionship on his part.

He was being offered a world in comparison to his previous misadventures, to his desolate cold gray life, and all he had to do was let himself _relax_ again.

_Feel the world, young leader. Let yourself be guided by the strings of Fate…._

(Is this my Fate, jijii-sama?)

Kibas heart gave a lurch. "Very well."

Tooboe instantly looked up at the other's voice, head cocked to a side. "What?"

Kiba sighed resignedly "I accept your offer. I…I'll come with you."

And before he could close his muzzle or get his bearings again, the boy beamed a smile like a ray of sunshine and hastily pushed him towards the right, beyond sooty walls and amidst crowded streets.

-()()()()

This odd couple drifted through the southern side of the dome towards the east. The people they passed stared bewildered their way. Never had they seen such beautiful, weird looking dogs. One was the colour of polished bronze, moving easily through the crowds that parted before them and merrily barking and yipping at his quiet companion. The other was larger and white coloured. He moved with innate stealth, staring at everyone and everything with piercing eyes and obvious mistrust. Though terribly battered and dirty he looked like the footed incarnation of the deadly spirit of the frost.

The other animals quieted instantly as the couple passed. Lap dogs skidded beneath the women's skirts and the birds rapidly dashed away.

Meanwhile, they continued unhurriedly on. They passed several gloomy alleyways, concrete bridges and abandoned fountains, covered in green moss and dust-like coal. The whistle of the frozen wind made Kiba grimace, and he felt the urge to stop and huddle in an abandoned corner to lie down again for eternity. Somehow, before he knew, a warm furry body pressed tentatively against his side in an attempt to shelter him from the bitter cold.

Kiba paused and tensed. It was the boy, once again in his wolf form, trying –though sadly failing- to pass him some warmth and keep him from shivering.

Kiba felt the compulsion to flinch away from the sudden touch, but rigidly controlled the urge. He didn't shun away nor growl in menace at the other's careless invasion of his private space, but he remained utterly stiff, fangs gritted. A second later Tooboe moved with a whispered sigh and, as if nothing had happened signaled the other with his head. "We're near!" he chirped easily, and skipped some blocks away.

"Come on, ookami-san! It's this way!"

Kiba sighed. His cynical mind tried reconsidering his previous decision to take some short lived holydays under the care of such particularly spirited wanna-be nurse. Shaking his head, he trudged on. It's useless to back away now. He won't let me be, anyway…and somehow I don't feel inclined to fight him.´ He gave a derisive snort. I'd end up killing him and that is useless. He isn't a threat and certainly not fit for dinner.´

Some time later Kiba reached the impatient wolf. He was bouncing form one foot to the other at the entrance of a shabby looking house. Kiba couldn't help smile slightly at the boy's behavior. (He sure is a creepy specimen…)

"Ookami-san, c-come in. This is my home," the boy stated, a tad bit unsure.

The place was down two set of stairs. It was actually more like a basement than a house, but it was surprisingly clean of the sooty dust that seem to cover every corner of the damn city. Passing the wooden entryway, he entered a large dimly-lit room. It was mainly bare. No furniture could be discerned through the places darkness, except a big black built-in cupboard and a pile of sheets and cloths lying on a mattress on the floor to the right.

At Kibas obvious scrutiny, Tooboe flushed a light pink and cleared his throat. (I- I need to explain this to him. Goodness I'm such a baka! I tell him he can stay at my place and all I have to offer is a cold basement!) "Ehmm…when I lived with my obaa-san we used to stay at the house upstairs but, when she…when she died the landlady kicked me off because I couldn't pay the rent." He scratched his head distractedly, looking down. " So, I sneaked here. I'm sorry it's not much…" Tooboes voice was low, sadness tingeing every word.

Kiba looked his way but didn't reply. He simply strolled in and sat heavily on the mattress, under the dim light that entered through an unpannelled little window, high up, near the ceiling. The chilly wind seeped mercilessly through it, making Kibas fur rustle and skin shiver.

Tooboe remained at the doorway some seconds more, transfixed by the other's figure on his measly attempt of a bed. It had been years since he'd last had company. Years since anyoned cared enough to fill the hollow left behind after his baa-chans death. Only once before he'd had visitors, a _friend_. Her name had been Reara. She had been the most beautiful human girl he'd ever met –not that he'd met many, mind you, but he knew she was pretty- with long raven hair and deep eyes. They'd met quite inadvertedly, one autumn afternoon as he had been wondering the Meat Market in search of food. She had smiled at him, at _him_ no less! And given him some sausages. He'd been so thrilled at the time, so entranced by her understanding eyes and carefree smile that he'd felt he'd reach the stars just for her. And that's where he'd screw it up….

Blinking a couple of times, he passed a hand through his bangs. (It's the past. It's over now.) Though he deeply wished it wasn't.

"Do you have water?" a smooth voice cut through his reverie and Tooboe looked up, only to gasp, eyes widening at what he saw. No longer a white wolf stood on his bed, but a boy. The handsome young man sat casually on the mattress, one long lean leg encased in a pair of shabby blue jeans raised, the other –the injured one- extended. An arm was thrown casually over the raised knee, a slim white hand emerging from the folds of a brown jacket.

Tooboe swallowed, his heart skipping a few heartbeats inside his chest as his eyes strayed to the other's face. Slender and as white as the ivory of his wolven fur, it wore a blank look like a mask. A stray lock of his sable brown hair wisped over such blue-coloured eyes like Tooboe had never seen as Kiba mutedly studied him.

Tooboe shivered. (He….he is so….)

"Well? Do you?" The now wolf-turned-young-man repeated evenly.

Tooboe nimbly tried retreating the path of the words that had been exchanged in his mind before he'd been so stupidly and blatantly _ogling_ the wolf. He couldn't find anything. Meekly he decided for the safe path. "Huh?"

Kiba raised one of his perfectly arched eyebrows and tilted his head a fraction. "I said, do you have water?" he looked at his injured leg and prodded it carefully with a slim white finger. "I need to clean up."

Tooboe punched his right hand against the left one, and nodded rapidly. "Hai! I…ehmm I don't have it here but if you give a second I'll go fetch it up. I know the best spot to get clean water," he said eagerly. Turning he skipped inside the darkened room and quickly lit a half-burnt candle which he then placed over the countertop of the cupboard.

"I'll also see if I can get us something to eat, too. The Market's closed at this time, but I can sneak inside a house and see around." He moved about messing the few things the place had, as he muttered darkly "Kuso! Where is it!"

Kiba stared at him in slight amusement, the antics of the other never ceasing to amaze him.

"A-ha!" Tooboe shouted, a metal bucket firmly swaying from his extended hand. "Found it! All ready now." Cocking his head he asked "Will you be okay all alone, ookami-san?"

Kiba looked at the other strangely. (Is it just me or this boy is really out for creeping?) Kiba stared inside the twin pools of melted bronze that were Tooboes eyes. The dim orange light of the candle seemed to make the boy glow in fiery warmth, his light skin dimming to amber, his long hair darkening to blood red. He was so damnably innocent, so disgustingly free from cruelty or deceit that it almost made the mountain wolf cringe in awkwardness… flinch with the yearn to keep that wild innocence pure.

He shook his head and snorted. Wherever had _that _come from!

"Go. I'll be fine," he said sharply with no trace of his whirling thoughts.

Tooboe moved from one foot to the other, hands twitching inside his pockets. He felt utterly stupid for asking this, for fearing so much over someone that he barely even knew at all, but…he needed to know, to be certain he wouldn't be alone once he returned. (At least for now.)

Inhaling shakily, he stuttered in a wispy thread "W-will you b-be here when I re-return…waiting?"

Kiba felt an odd stirring in his stomach at the other's blunt caring display.

He didn't answer for a while. He looked ahead at the dancing little flame of the candle, his intense blue eyes reflecting it as if the sky were on fire. Inside his mind a fight was taking place. His brain urged him to flee, to follow the now every-minute-more-distant trail; but his heart, his soul ached to remain, to bathe in the warmth that was having a companion near once again.

Without giving it much thought he locked eyes with the other and nodded.

Tooboes heart lurched, a cheery smile lighting up his previously uncertain eyes. He bowed quickly and said "Arigatou!" before skipping away in a flurry of brown.

Kiba rested his head against the freezing wall, eyes closing. Then he opened them to fix on the humid ceiling. (Whatever is wrong with me…) his thoughts trailed off in drowsiness.

9()()()()9

"_Please, won't you call me_

_and ease my mind…?_

_Reasons for me to find you_

_Peace of mind…_

_And what can I do_

_To get me to you?"_

_:"Call me, call me" from Cowboy Bebop:_

_9()()()()9_

A/N: Oh my! It's been a while. Have been blithely submerged on winter holydays, enjoying my country's South weather. Actually end up locked up in a mountain's cabin for raging snow storms. But snow is pretty (though I hate the cold! Brrrr….) and a heavenly inspiration for Wolf's Rain fiction.

Anyway, hope you enjoyed this and remember every critic-slash-comment-slash-review is merrily welcome! (of course if well founded )

(Bows) Doumo arigatou for following my story!

9

9

9

:C.o.m.t.e.s.s.a:

_"The shattering dawn/ finds me in a deserted street/ of my city./ Your profile turned away/ the sounds that go to make your name/ the lilt of your laughter/ these are illustrious toys you have left me."_

_J. L. B._


End file.
